Moore County Courthouse - Building - #79001738 - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Long Description:
Moore County was created by a division of Cumberland County in 1784. The first courthouse was a log building, constructed the following year. It was moved in 1814 to the current "courthouse square". Two more replacements followed in 1820 and in 1840.

Despite being constructed of brick, the courthouse burned on September 5th, 1889, and over 100 years of county records were destroyed, making another building replacement necessary.

Additional physical problems befell the courthouse over the years, so in 1922, a bond was passed that allowed $150,000 for construction of the current courthouse. It is constructed entirely of Indiana Limestone and was completed in 1923.

The main entrance is on the western side. In modern times, the grounds have been encroached by road widening and barely accommodate the building's footprint on the south, east and north sides. This enchroachment caused the loss of the 1898 Magnetic Meridian Station--a pair of granite markers used by surveyors to calibrate their compasses. A grassy area has been preserved on the western side, and two Civil War cannons remain, as does a memorial to a WWI aviator. However, these articles are very close to the curb of the street.

A newer courthouse stands across the street on the east side of Dowd Street. And remembering the disastrous 1889 fire (and to prevent another loss of records), the Register of Deeds has an underground storage vault which is dug into the hillside on the west side of Dowd Street.

The Carthage Historic District extends several blocks to the west of the courthouse. It contains the one remaining building of the Buggy Factory, a stone Community House built in 1940, and several Victorian houses.

Street address: 102 Monroe Street Carthage, NC United States 28327 County / Borough / Parish: Moore County Year listed: 1979 Historic significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Period of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Government, Courthouse Current function: County Administrative Offices Privately owned?: no Hours of operation: From: 8:00 AM To: 5:00 PM [U.S.] National Register of Historic Places URL: [Web Link] Website (secondary): [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   1/5/2010 NCDaywalker visited it